Anthony Martial has signed a new five year contract extension at Manchester United that will see him remain with the club till at least 2024.
Martial’s future had been a subject of interest for quite some time, prior to the announcement. Despite his obvious love for the club and its fans, the youngster might have left as recently as last summer.
A falling out with former manager Jose Mourinho put the 23-year-old’s future at Old Trafford in doubt. Mourinho is a manager who prefers players that are willing to track back and defend. Martial doesn’t fit that bill, and as a result, he was starting to fall down the pecking order under the Portuguese.
Towards the end of Mourinho’s reign though, Martial went on a scoring spree. His two goals at Newcastle and then Chelsea arguably delayed the manager’s inevitable sacking and kept him in his position longer than he should have been. Still though, despite finding his way back into the starting XI, his future remained uncertain. It was believed that the Frenchman was unwilling to commit to the club if Mourinho remained in charge.
Now that he has gone though, Martial has done a complete u-turn and has decided to commit his future to United. He is widely adored by the Old Trafford faithful and it is believed that their support is one of the main reasons he hadn’t handed in a transfer request during those dark days.
However, United would never have let him leave in the first place. He is seen as the future of the club and they moved quickly to activate a one-year extension clause in his old contract that would give them more time to convince him to stay. Their attempts have been successful and now, following Mourinho’s sacking, he has chosen to commit his long-term future to the club.
FOLLOW Arsedevils Live’s Premier League Deadline Day coverage with all the latest across the day RIGHT HERE
United announced his signature in a statement on their official website that read: “Manchester United is delighted to announce that Anthony Martial has signed a new contract, which will keep him at the club until June 2024, with the option to extend for a further year.”
Speaking about his decision to sign a new deal, Martial said:
“I am loving my time at this club. From the day I joined I have been made to feel part of the United family and I have been incredibly humbled and overwhelmed by the warmth and love of our fans, who continue to amaze me with their support.
“I would like to thank Ole and his coaching staff for their belief in me and for helping me to take my game to the next level. This club is all about winning trophies and I am sure the next piece of silverware is not that far away.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replaced Mourinho in an attempt to bring some stability back to United, on a temporary basis for now. Martial’s extension is a sign that he is doing exactly what he was hired for. Speaking about Martial’s extension, he said:
“Anthony is one of those naturally gifted players that any coach would love to work with. For a young man, he has a good footballing brain which, when coupled with his exceptional talent, makes for a player with an exciting future ahead of him. This is the perfect club for Anthony to progress his development as a top-class forward and we are all delighted he has signed a long-term deal.”
